1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to liquid flow control valves and particularly to ball valves.
2. Prior Art
A ball valve involving a resilient ball as taught by the present invention is not new. Examples of such earlier ball valves are shown in patents to Fisher, U.S. Pat. No. 440,025, and Donahue, U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,720. These arrangements for moving a resilient ball over a seat as closure devices have provided for selectively closing off or redirecting a flow through a valve body. However, each teaches axially connected balls that are moved into sealing engagement over a valve seat. The Fisher patent provides for movement of an axially connected ball along opposing tracks. The Donahue patent shows a pivoting arm mounting a resilient ball on an end thereof.
Similar to the present invention, a utilization of an unconnected ball and an arrangement for moving it between seats is shown in patents to Burke, et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,790, and Morain, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,849. While these valve structures provide for moving a ball between valve seats, neither alone or in combination, is like the present invention in that neither involves a single control where a quarter rotation will unseat a resilient ball off of a port valve seat, move it into alignment with a second valve port, and will seat that resilient ball over that second valve port.
Distinct from earlier devices, the present invention, to provide movement of the free resilient ball between valve seats, employs, in one embodiment, a clutched cam system and in another embodiment utilizes opposing interacting camming surfaces. In both arrangements, rotation of an activator handle through a quarter rotation only will provide for a vertical displacement to a basket wherein the resilient ball is caged, and a turning of that basket to align the ball with, and reseat it over, another valve port.
Opposing camming surfaces for providing vertical displacement are not new, and some early examples of valves including camming surfaces for providing vertical displacement are shown in patents to Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 444,514; Schuermann, U.S. Pat. No. 900,598; and Bashlin, U.S. Pat. No. 852,155. These patents, however, while they do include opposing camming surfaces, such are not for lifting a rod structure and neither do they involve a mechanism for moving a valve closure mechanism from covering engagement over one port to another, as does the present invention.